Nasty, Nasty PC Audio - Page 2

akwash79 · 05-10-2007, 11:00 AM

Well, I moved the amp ground to a separate location and it seemed to sound a little crisper but the noises still persist.

I also hooked my laptop up to the amp and there was no noise whatsoever. Nothing but clean, crisp sound. As soon as I hook the pc up to the amp buzz...buzz...whine...buzz....buzz. This happens with using both the onboard sound and the turtle beach roadie. Arrrggggg.....

If tested independently, neither of the devices are producing noise. It only seems to happen when both are connected together.

greatwhite · 05-10-2007, 11:06 AM

Try it with the car running, the car off , the pc plugged into wall power (if you still can). See if it's alt noise, fan noise, hdd noise.....

Cheap amps and cables can sometimes cause problems. And on the other end, high end amps can pick up sounds (noise) in a poor install that a cheap amp doesn't.

Ya gotta find where it's comming from before you can fix it.

Unfortunately, there's usually no easy way to find it. You just have to keep changing things until you find the source. It can be very frustrating and a long process. You just have to keep pluggin' away. I wish there was a definative answer or easy fix to give you, but there isn't. Sorry.

Good luck

P.S. maybe you should remove that 100% completed line in your sig

J/K.

RedGTiVR6 · 05-10-2007, 11:08 AM

Did you check your gains on the amps and make sure that they are set up properly?

durwood · 05-10-2007, 11:28 AM

Sounds like maybe you have an issue where both your amp and computer and grounding the ground portion of the RCA cable. Try a ground loop isolator at this point. I am alomst 99% certain it will fix your rproblem and they are cheap <$10.

I could suggest some other things to do, but at this point I don't know if you want to do some surgery on your RCA cables or swap out your amp for a different brand.

akwash79 · 05-10-2007, 05:19 PM

I adjusted the gains and that doesn't seem to be an issue. Thanks for the suggestion though. I think durwood may be correct on this issue and I may have to go with the GLI. They pc and amp only cause a problem when used with each other.

@greatwhite - well technically it is 100%, I just have to turn the volume up a litte and the noise isn't a problem lol. Sucks when changing tracks

no_luggage · 05-10-2007, 05:36 PM

Coupla ground things I've been dealing with on parallel project you might consider as well... Dunno if it'll help, but it won't hurt.

Clean and tighten the engine ground strap. Also the primary ground from the battery to the frame. Try adding a ground strap from your equipment to the engine as well. If nothing else you may improve how the car runs...

JAC · 05-10-2007, 07:29 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by akwash79

Where to begin?

I have a M10000 powered by the m1-atx psu. Both amp and pc are wired directly to the battery using 10awg wire and both grounded to the same spot under a bolt in the trunk(I DID sand this down to bare metal). The audio is going out directly to the 4-channel amplifier(no HU).

1st attempt - I used the onboard sound and got alternator whine and buzzing sound whenever the HD was being accessed or duriing mouse movements(on touchsscreen). When removing the RCA wires from the amp, the noise stopped.

2nd attempt - I used the Turtle Beach Roadie USB sound card for audio out. While this improved the sound quality greatly, the same alternator whine still persists. But...... get this......I no longer hear a buzz when the hd is being accessed or during mouse movements, the buzz is now constant and ONLY goes away when the hd is being accessed or the mouse is moved. WEIRD. I hooked up a pair of headphones to the audio out from the roadie and I did not hear any noticeable noise.

Also, my rca cables are no where near the power or ground wires.

My next steps:

1. Try hooking a cd player or ipod directly to the amps to see if the noise is still there(may be difficult to come across one of these without purchasing) I may try using my pocket pc, just need an adapter.

2. Ground loop isolaters - although this really doesn't SOLVE the problem just masks it.

3. Ground amp and pc under 2 different bolts?

4. Better RCA cables(although I really doubt that this is the problem)

Any other suggestions before I lose my mind?
99 Mercury Cougar

akwash79, it sounds like you covered all the bases. Try moving the mini plug from your RCA cables where it connects to the pc (grabbing the plug while inserted to computer and moving it clockwise/counterclockwise or even pulling/pushing it in/out while playing music- listen carefully to see if it's this contact that's creating the buzzing/whine). I had a similar experience with my mobo and tried everything even spent loads of money to fix it when all the while it was the audio connector from VIA that was inferior from the factory, Anyway I fixed it. Please keep us informed..curios to see if this helps.

akwash79 · 05-11-2007, 11:18 AM

I went to ratshack and got the GLI cables they had and connected them in my car. I started my car expecting them not to work......heard absolutely NOTHING!
Then frodo began to load and I was then expecting a severe loss in audio quality but it didn't seem to affect it much if at all. Needless to say I am now very happy with this outcome.

Thanks for all your help and suggestions. Right now I have a Jensen 35w x 4 RMS amp. Do you know what type of amp I would need to eliminate this?

RedGTiVR6 · 05-11-2007, 11:21 AM

so the problem was crappy cables.

That amp isn't helping either.

Jensen is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to car audio.

In case you haven't noticed. You get what you pay for in this world.

greatwhite · 05-11-2007, 11:26 AM

Well, she said!

Cheers

akwash79 · 05-11-2007, 11:39 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by RedGTiVR6

so the problem was crappy cables.

That amp isn't helping either.

Jensen is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to car audio.

In case you haven't noticed. You get what you pay for in this world.

The strange thing is that the RCA cables on the GLI themselves appear to be a lower quality build than the previous RCAs I was using(the cables on the GLI are much thinner than my others).

Curiosity · 05-11-2007, 01:42 PM

You should rip open the old cables and check to see what they look like, or just use them in your home. The cheaper cables usually have an open braid which allows higher frequencies through. The better stuff is solid braid, and better has foil wrap over that.

greatwhite · 05-11-2007, 03:37 PM

Glad you solved it!

Cheers

BJ